Pan kiosk owner held for Rs10 lakh robbery

Nagpur: The role of a pan kiosk owner, identified as 27-year-old Rahul Jarunde, in a case of armed robbery of Rs10.40 lakh at Vaishnav Devi Nagar was brought to fore by Kalamna police’s detection branch wing on Wednesday.
It’s learnt Jarunde, who has been sent to remand custody till February 26, wanted some fast cash to spend on his engagement. The investigating team has already recovered Rs5 lakh under the supervision of senior PI Khushal Tijare of Kalamna police station. Apart from Jarunde, two others involved in the robbery have been identified as Dharam Bansod and Virendra Rahangdiya, both 22, who are still on the run. While Jarunde is learnt to be a fresher in crime, the two other accomplices have several offences against them.

Jarunde had been roped in by the two others after plotting the robbery following some recce by the seasoned goons. The three had assaulted Bhushan Naukarkar, working for a betel nut trader, on February 17 before fleeing with the victim’s moped in which the cash was kept. Naukarkar, who had fought back despite being blinded by chilli powder, was heading towards Jaripatka to hand over the day’s collection to his employer when the incident took place. He had snatched the keys of the robbers’ bike while resisting them.

The robbers had no other option but to flee triple seat on Naukarkar’s moped, leaving their bike behind. Kalamna police, which had registered the offence, came to know that the bike being used by the robbers had been stolen from Jaripatka around a year ago. Following clues and information traced out by DB wing under PSI NT Gosavi, Jarunde was rounded up.